Meaning of Family
by DomoRhode
Summary: Tony finds who he thinks is Peter out in the rain, so he bring the kid home and all kinds of hell breaks loose. Superfamily, Steve/Tony Rating T cus I'm paranoid.
1. Chapter 1

Tony always kind of liked the rain, he found something soothing in the sound of the droplets hitting his umbrella. So when the office where today's meeting was being held wasn't that far from Avenger's Tower, Tony had decided to walk in the rain.

"Steve, would you calm down already?" Tony huffed into his cell phone, "I have an umbrella."

"_It__'__s __still __early __spring __Tony__, __just __don__'__t __get __sick__."_ The Captain then hung up on his husband.

"Love you too." Tony said shoving his phone back in his pocket. He strolled down the surprisingly uncrowded New York street in slow pace, savoring the sounds and smells of the rain. The sky wasn't all that dark but the sun was definitely going down behind the dark rain clouds. Tony checked his watch, 5:45PM.

Thoughts of today's event and of his son, Peter waiting for him at home, passed by his mind as he made his way down the block. He heard some rummaging in the alleyway coming up on his left, but paid it no mind, thinking he could handle whatever was there if something should pop out.

As he approached the alley, a man dressed in a dirty brown jacket with hood up, sprinted out of the shadows and almost ran into Tony. The man stopped in front of Tony for a moment before going around, he was carrying a jacket in one arm and a pair of sneakers in the other. Tony thought he must've just gotten them from a dumpster or trash can in the alley, but as he glanced into the shadows the man came from he saw nothing but a smaller version of his only son, Peter.


	2. Chapter 2

"Peter?" Tony whispered to himself, squinting his eyes against the darkness of the alley, "Peter, what are you doing?" He called louder. The kid was wearing nothing but a dark blue tank top and black cargo pants that were obviously too big for him. He had messy brown hair just like Peter, but his stature was small and crumpled up against the concrete building.

Tony stepped closer to who he thought was his son, the bruises on the child's shoulders and arms became visible along with the blood crawling down his cheek. He reached a hand out as the kid's head shot up, his blazing blue eyes almost glowing in the shadows. Tony gasped, "Whoa, you're not Peter," Tony said, the child stood up slowly and backed away from Tony, "Hold up! I'm not going to hurt you."

The kid was a carbon copy of Peter, other than the eyes and body size, they could be twins. Tony couldn't just leave this kid out in the freezing rain, the protective parent inside him just wouldn't allow it. The child was so small and looked almost starved to death, the way his soaking wet tank-top clung to his torso, Tony could almost count all his ribs. Tony thought of the man he saw run out of the alley, how he was holding a jacket and shoes. He must have beat up the boy and took them, Tony glared at the ground at the thought of it.

Tony reached into the jacket of his suit and pulled out a granola bar that Steve had given him this morning, he unwrapped the bar and held it out to the kid. The boy looked from Tony, to the bar and then back to Tony, as if contemplating if it was a trap of some sort. Tony stepped forward, "Come on, I don't bite," the closer Tony got the more he saw Peter in this kid. He looked no more than nine or ten years old and Peter was eleven, going on twelve this year.

The kid finally decided that Tony wasn't dangerous and took the granola bar, ripping the wrapper off completely and tearing it apart. Tony laughed at his eagerness and covered him with the umbrella. He looked down at the boy, thinking of his son, Peter, they were so alike. Tony placed a hand on the boy's matted wet hair and squatted down to his eye level, as he licked the crumbs off his fingers.

The boy's lightning blue eyes stared into Tony's chocolate brown ones, and Tony knew this boy had no one, nobody cared for him or protected him. The child's eyes told a sad and wild story, so Tony did what he did best.

He took what he wanted.


	3. Chapter 3

Tony looked at the boy, his striking eyes and dark brown hair, there was no way he was leaving this child out in the New York streets, the freezing cold and all by himself. But then again he can't just take a kid off the street and keep it as his own, can he?

"_No, absolutely not! What are you thinking?_" said the red haired CEO of Stark Industries.

"Pepper, come on, he's all by himself in the middle of New York!" The boy wasn't even paying attention as Tony talked about him loudly on the phone. He was busy slurping down his second hot chocolate and looking around the cafe at all the colors and sweets.

Tony had taken the boy by the hand and led him into the warmest, nearby sweet shop and called up Pepper, told what he did and what he was planning to do. Pepper was his best friend and Steve was already upset at Tony for missing dinner today. The kid didn't seem to mind Tony anymore, his eyes no longer looked at Tony as a danger but more of a...food source.

"_Tony, listen to me,_" Pepper's voice became level, trying to reason with Tony, "_You don't even know the kid's name, where he came from or if there's someone looking for him. What's if he ran away from home or something?_"

"Impossible, I already took a picture of him and sent it to JARVIS to look over. It turns out that he's not registered with the police or with the missing children agencies anywhere. No one knows who he is." Tony put Pepper on speaker and looked at the file that popped up on his phone, "His name is...Ryanna?!"

Tony looked up from his phone and look at the kid sitting across from him. The boy's eyes looked up up at Tony at the sound of his name, "_Tony? What's wrong?_" Pepper asked.

"It seems this boy is actually a girl," Tony laughed at his naivety, it was obvious once you looked close enough, "and she's up for adoption. Guess New York managed to misplace one of its kid's into the hands of Tony Stark."

Tony took Pepper off of speaker just as she began to lecture him, "_This isn't like when you got Peter, that was a legal process, supervised! I don't think they'll allow you to adopt a run away. A missing child isn't a lost puppy, Tony! Besides, you were freaking out over adopting Peter, why aren't you freaking out over this one?!_"

"Hey, I think I'm doing a pretty good job with Peter, at least better than my father did with me. Besides her and Peter look so much alike, two kids is nothing! Can you do me a favor and get me the paperwork? Thanks Pepper!"

"_Tony! What about Ste-_" Click.

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Sorry is its short and weird or if there's some spelling errors and stuff. Leave a review, I really want to know what you guys think! :) Thanks!

-Domo


	4. Chapter 4

After hanging up on Pepper, Tony looked at his wristwatch for the time, 6:37, he had to get home before Steve got even more upset. He looked down at the little girl, who had a new found fascination of her hand and asked, "Ryanna, do you wanna come home with me?" The girl looked up at Tony, eye's wide in surprise. Tony thought the question must have sounded odd coming from an old man she's just met. He quickly added, "I mean, I have a son, a little boy. He almost your age, and...what am I doing?"

Tony looked at the table and put his hands behind his neck, trying to think of a way to explain this to a child. He looked at Ryanna, who stared at him with her big blue eyes, full of curiosity and confusion. She opened her mouth slowly and whispered, "I'm cold." Tony laughed, even though she had Tony's suit jacket hanging around her small frame, she still shivered in the air conditioning of the cafe. Ryanna giggled a little at the sound of Tony's laughter.

"Listen Ryanna, do you have a place where it's warm, where you can sleep?" Tony asked. He watched as she shook her head 'no' and looked at her hands. Tony knew that the state had her in some kind of foster care or orphanage, "You don't want to go back, do you?" Ryanna shook her head again, avoiding Tony's eyes as if he was going to yell at her.

Ryanna's mouth quivered, a tear slid down her cheek, "Its scary," she whispered. Tony was heartbroken seeing this small child cry, he wondered what had happened to make her run away like this. But it was obvious she didn't want to talk about it, so Tony didn't ask. "Do you have a family, Mister?"

Tony was surprised by Ryanna's sudden interest in him, "Y-yes I do but call me Tony, I'm not old enough old be called 'Mister' yet. I have a little boy, his name is Peter, he's eleven years old. And I have a husband, his name is Steve," Ryanna smiled as Tony went on to tell her all about the people who shared his home. He never mentioned the Avengers though or that he lived in Stark tower. He wasn't normally into telling people his personal life, but he wanted this child to trust him. He wanted to save her, like the superhero he was. Finally Tony asked her again, "Do you want to come home with me, Ryanna? You don't have to be scared anymore, you'll be warm and have all the food your belly can hold."

Her's eyes scanned Tony's body, face and eyes, looking for any trace of lies or trickery. Then Tony stood up from booth they were in and held out his hand to Ryanna. She looked at his large hand and then down at her small ones, then slowly slid hers into place in his.


	5. Chapter 5

Ryanna looked up at Tony's face as they walked down the streets New York. Tony had told her his full name and asked her if she had ever heard of him. She nodded and looked forward, she had heard his name on the television before but not much else. As they turned a corner, Ryanna looked up and tried to peak at the tall skyscrapers that hid behind the umbrella. They approached one building that had iron base walls and glass doors. Tony stopped at the base of the concrete stairs leading up at to the doors to pick up his cell phone that had started ringing in his pocket. It was Steve.

Tony groaned as he hit the answer button, "Hey honey!"

"_Don't give me that Tony! Pepper just called me and told me everything, what are you thinking_?" Steve was never one to get angry, but sometimes Tony pushed him too far.

"Steve, to be honest, I don't know what I'm doing! All I know is she was out in the rain all by herself, scared and alone! I couldn't just leave her there!" Tony tried to make his point as he guided Ryanna inside the building, "I'm sorry but I just don't have it in me! And you should see her, she looks just like Peter!"

"_A child isn't a lost puppy Tony, you can't just-_" Steve sighed on the other end of the phone, not wanting to be angry at his husband, "_Alright, Tony. Where are you?_"

"I'm in the elevator about to come up. Ryanna's with me by the way," Tony said, giving Ryanna a smile. She looked up at him, a worried look painted across her face. Ryanna honestly had no idea what was going on either, but she was tired of being out on the streets by herself, and she knew she could trust this man.

After yelling back and forth with Steve, Tony finally hung up the phone. He looked down at the small girl, she was scared and Tony knew it. As the elevator came to the floor that all the Avengers shared, Ryanna's head whipped up and looked at the steel doors, "What's wrong?" Tony asked.

Ryanna moved behind Tony as the door slid open, "He's really mad," she whispered. Tony had no time to be confused as a raging green Hulk came around the corner.

The Hulk came rushing at the elevator with a frantic Steve and Natasha running close behind. Tony started mashing the elevator's 'Door Close' button and yelling, "JARVIS CLOSE THE DOORS!" He grabbed Ryanna by the shoulder and pushed against the side wall as the door's closed.

The steel elevator doors were nothing for the Hulk though, he grabbed them in his oversized hands, crushed them, and flung them aside as if they were cardboard. Steve and Natasha had tried the stop the Hulk from grabbing Tony and Ryanna from the elevator but he just shook them off. Tony was the first to be flung from the elevator, luckley Steve caught him before he hit the floor. But once the Hulk got hold of Ryanna, he froze.

Ryanna had locked eyes with the beast and took hold of his mind in an Hulk tried to fight off the numbness that took over his muscles but slowly sucumbed to the human inside him. Steve, Tony and Natasha watched on as the Hulk changed back into Bruce Banner, all the while staring straight at Ryanna.

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Sorry it took so long to upload this chapter! Please leave a review, whether its good or bad I really want to know what you guys think! Thanks so much!

-Domo


	6. Chapter 6

A silence fell over the corridor, all eyes were on Ryanna. Nobody believed what they had just witnessed. Bruce sat on the floor on his knees, taking deep breathes and rubbing his hands on his head. Ryanna looked up at Tony sat who was leaning on Steve's chest, while Natasha had decided to make her way over to Bruce. Tony and Steve stared at Ryanna and she stared back, her mind was open to their thoughts, caused by the adrenaline that still coursed through her veins.

Thoughts of confusion came from Tony and Steve, concern from Natasha and fear from Bruce. Ryanna backed away from Bruce until her back touched the wall, next to the elevator. Natasha was the first to speak, "How did you do that?"

Ryanna's eyes whipped to Natasha's face, trying to read her emotion...her thoughts. All Ryanna heard from her were thoughts of concern and curiosity, no threats or fears, "I just..I'm sorry," Ryanna whispered. Tony stood on his own two feet and walked over next to Bruce and Steve followed. They looked at her, then to Bruce and finally back to Ryanna.

"Did you just force him to transform back?" Tony asked, he knelt down and grabbed Bruce's chin to examine his eyes, "Did it hurt?" Tony was past the shock of what had happened and was now just full of questions.

Bruce looked at Tony and laughed despite himself, "Not at all, I'm not quite sure what she did." Tony offered him a hand as they both stood up. Bruce looked over at Ryanna, a questioning look on his face, "Who is she Tony?"

"Yes, Tony. Please inform us," Steve's voice was harsh, obviously still a little upset at Tony. Ryanna hung back, trying to keep her mind open to the thoughts and emotions running across the air but it slowly faded from her and the air was silent to everyone.

Tony started to sweat a little, hoping the situation had made Steve forget about the phone call, "Uh, everyone this is Ryanna. Ryanna this is my husband Steve, the big angry guy is Bruce and this is Natasha," He said slowly, pointing at everyone.

"I now know why Steve was upset, who by the way got Bruce upset and which then caused all this," Natasha said as she grabbed Bruce by the arm and dragged him back down the hall they came from, "Stark, this whole thing is officially your fault!" With that they disappeared into the building, leaving Tony and Ryanna alone to explain themselves to Steve.

Tony looked up at Steve, he stood a good half-foot taller than Tony, his blue eyes were intense as they stared into Tony's soft brown ones. Tony was about to explain himself when Steve looked away and walked up to Ryanna, "Well, little lass, it seems you've caused quite the frenzy around here," he flashed her is most amazing smile as he knelt down in front of her. Steve held out his hand and Ryanna poked her hand out from Tony suit sleeve, "Ryanna, my name is Steve Rogers, its a pleasure to meet you. You must be frightened by all of this, why don't I get you something warm to drink?" Ryanna smiled up at Steve as she followed him to the kitchen. As Steve passed Tony he lent in and whispered to him angrily that he better pick up his mess.

Tony sighed as he watched his husband disappear into the kitchen with Ryanna trailing on his heels. He looked back at the destroyed elevator and the crushed door that laid a few feet away from it. But there was something more important on his mind, "JARVIS, can you tell me what just happened?"

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_Well, I'm gonna stop here for now. Sorry that this chapter came in so late! College is starting up in 2 days and I've been getting everything set up(I'm so nervous!)_

_Any reviews or comments are greatly appreciated! Thanks so much for reading 3_

_-Domo_


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